Lunar: The Silver Star

The Good
Many gamers did not experience the Lunar series until the Playstation version. Or perhaps even the worst version, that of the Gameboy Advance. Yet those whom owned a Sega CD knew of slew of RPGS unlike any seen on any other platform. It was the beginning of the era of modern RPGS, as the Sega CD was the first console to allow FMV.

In Lunar, you assume the role of Alex, a young man from a small village, whom dreams of adventures, like his idol Dragon Master Dyne. One day he and his three friends Nall, Luna, and Ramus set of to find an Dragon Diamond. Little do they know, but this is just the beginning of a quest that will take Alex to realize his dreams. He will meet new friends, become the greatest Dragon Master in the history of Lunar, and discover his love for Luna.

In typical RPG fashion the plot builds slowly, until the end. The plot is also quite engaging, and will keep your attention during it’s 40 hours of gameplay. Some RPGS can drag out and get boring, Lunar never stumbles in this fashion, even during the one instance of excessive leveling.

All the characters are well written and generally likable. Even the villains. There is nothing I hate more than RPGS with generic party members and poorly conceived villains. ( That’s you Final Fantasy.) Lunar avoids this fate.

The Graphics are good. But not great. The game is also not as colorful as it’s PS and GBA remakes. And if you compare Lunar I and Lunar II, there is vast difference in the graphics department. But considering that this was one of the first games on the Sega CD it’s is understandable. The FMVS look great, they are feature film quality, and it is always cool when you see one.

The Sound and Music is excellent as we have come to expect from the Lunar series. Those playing this version after the PS one will find that some of the music is the same. Lunar still features one of the best videogame soundtracks. There is no voiceovers in battle, and in general it is not very common, but what little there is good.

The Gameplay has a lot of differences than the newer versions. I will not go into them all. One example however is that Luna does not travel to Meribia with Alex. The gameplay is solid with a few slight exceptions, that I will go into later. It is simply a fun game, that will keep you playing even if you know what happens next.

The Bad
There are a few instances in this game were things slow down. So that you can build enough silver to purchase new weapons for your party. Or one part were to fight your first boss you must level excessively.

The Bottom Line
Is this version better than the others, well honestly they all have things unique to them. I would suggest to Lunar fans to play all the versions of this wonderful game.